Strong
by BlueLovesGreen
Summary: All Sakura wanted to do was prove she could do this herself, but medical school is expensive, and now that shes lost her second job how can she ever get enough to pay rent? Contains: Cussing, Fighting, and Possible SC GaaSaku
1. Chapter 1

The street lights where dimly lighting the dirty concrete walkway, and the graffiti covered walls would make any normal girl feel uneasy, scared that someone will take their purse, or their jewelry which would be a legitimate worry, if Sakura Haruno had anything worth stealing. She sighed at that thought and rubbed her neck. She'd just gotten off from her first job, and had about 3 hours before going to her second one, which she would have to leave an hour before her shift ended to make it to her first class at 7 o'clock. All in all she only spent about 6 hours in her tiny apartment throughout the she used that time to sleep, since she managed to get her homework done in class.

Slowly she climbed the grimy staircase to her apartment "heh, more like a shoebox than an apartment" she scoffed. Turning the key in the lock to her door, she opened it and walked in. Doing the same routine she always does, quickly she begins heating water for ramen (she really hated the stuff, but it was cheap and about all she could afford) then, while that was heating she made her small futon out into a bed and climbed into her tiny shower. Careful to only spend 2 minuets, she quickly scrubbed her body and her short pink hair, which was lackluster due to the fact conditioner was deemed unnecessary. _'Man I knew leaving the orphanage and striking it out on my own was going to be tough but...' _she sighed. Suddenly the ramen cooking on the stove began to boil over, making her realize she'd spent 3 extra minuets in the shower. _'Shit! Damnit-all!' _quickly she turned the water off and wrapped a towel around her. She ran over and moved the pot her ramen was in. _'Sakura you idiot! that'll be a whole other dollar on the water bill! fuck! it was already going to be high enough because of the day I strained my ankle and decided to soak it in hot water!' _

She groaned and sat down on her bed where she ate her ramen in silence. She didn't have a tv to watch, not like she'd waste the electricity on one anyway. Money was just too tight to have luxuries like that. Soon she was through eating, she washed and dried her bowl and put it on the countertop next to her other dishware. She only had one of everything, she only had one friend and they always ate out somewhere, his treat of course, plus it's not like she had the extra food to feed him if he did come over. _'sigh' _ she turned off her lamp and flopped backward on her futon/bed _'just a few more years, then I won't have to live like this anymore.' _She looked out her window and slowly drifted to sleep.

Bright sunlight streamed in on her face, groaning she sat up and stretched. She looked around groggily, the it dawned on her. "FUCK! What time is it?!" she hopped out of bed and grabbed her watch, it read 7:32. "GYAH! FUCK FUCK FUCK!" hurriedly she threw on some pants grabbed her bag and ran to her class, desperately wishing she had a cell phone so she could call her work. Obviously she was in big trouble, she did miss a whole eight hour shift. _'Shiiit i'm so fired!' _She managed to make it to her school within 20 mins, a great accomplishment seeing as it's 10 miles away.

"Sorry I'm late! Shizune-sensei!" She exclaimed as she took her seat in the back of the class, luckily they where doing a direction, so her tardiness wasn't really noticed by the class. "It's okay Sakura." Shizune said. All of Sakuras sensei knew about her situation, and where very lenient with her. Once class was over, Sakura used what was probably the only payphone in existence to call her boss. She dialed the number, and waited. Three rings and then "Hello?"

"Ah yes, Mr. Orochimaru, this is Sakura Haruno. I'm calling in about-"

"You missing your whole shift? You shouldn't have even bothered. You're fired. -click-"

"uh..." Sakura could only stare at the phone in her hand. The world began to crash in around her. What was she going to do? She needed that second job! Med school, no living itself was impossible for her without that job! Tears began to slowly descend down her face. Her sense of loss was overwhelming. She sank to the ground and began to weep. Now she wouldn't be able to make rent in time, let alone buy any food. She remembered when she had first told the orphanage workers where she was going on her eighteenth birthday.

_'I'm going to medical school! I will become a doctor!' _she had said.

_'heh, you a doctor? bahaha! don't make me laugh! How could a useless simpleton like you even make it out in the world by yourself?' _ they had said. But she'd gone out and tried anyway. Stupid mistake right?

'They_ where right... I am useless' _She thought. It was so hard just to survive, and now her dream would never be realized.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed when he found her, but Naruto sure was a sight for sore eyes.

"Baka... what are you doing out here, it's pouring rain. You're going to catch a cold Miss. Doctor." he said with a smile on his face. That sent her back into a crying fit. "W-what?! Whats wrong Sakura?! Is it that guy again? I'll kick his ass datebayo!" He said fiercely.

"N-no, Naruto... I got fired from my job!" she sobbed. "N-n-now I'll be kicked o-o-out of my apartment and and and..." She was close to hyperventilating.  
"Shh, shh calm down. It's okay." He reassured her. By this point he had pulled her into one of his famous hugs. "Baka, thats what you're worried about? Haha why didn't you say so! Move in with me and Gaara! It'll be okay!" he said cheerily. She thought about it. It's not that she was ungrateful, it was just that she was prideful. She wanted to do this on her own and be able to look back and say 'I didn't need help from anyone!'

"You don't have to answer now, why don't you come over and get cleaned up, then you can decide!" Naruto exclaimed. They had been friends for many years, both growing up as orphans. But Naruto rarely asked her over, something about his roommate not liking people or something.

"Okay.." she said. He smiled, which reminded her oddly like the sun. Infectious warmth spread and she found herself smiling lightly with him. He lifted his umbrella over their heads and they walked to his car, which was an unholy shade of orange. She almost never missed a chance to make fun of him for it. They got in and Naruto started the car, then he backed up and drove out of the school parking lot, to the opposite side of town as her apartment. Naruto lived on a decent side of town, completely different from her dangerous neighborhood. They pulled up to his apartment complex. They where more like townhouses than apartments. All arranged with care, and by the looks of it they had an amazing gardener. They walked up the side walk, still under the umbrella, and stopped at the door. Sakura stared at it with apprehension. It was a big decision she needed to make, but life seems to have not given her a choice. She knew, weather she wanted to or not, she'd have to take him up on his offer.

"Welcome to your soon to be home! Well, that is if you want it!" Naruto said as he opened the door.

* * *

Wellp theres the first chapter! I warn you now, with art school, procrastination and other such shit I won't update very often. Also, another fair warning: I absolutely suck at spelling and grammar but I can't find a beta reader :( review please!


	2. Chapter 2

Sakura couldn't help but be amazed at how clean the place was. The floors had been polished, and she couldn't spot even a speck of dust. The entry way was small, but in a cozy way. "Maaaaaan, I'm starving!" Naruto said as he took her past the stairs into the kitchen, which was also spotless. Now don't get her wrong, Naruto was usually a fresh clean fellow, but she knew what his room looked like growing up. She shivered at just the memory. _'ish! Well, maybe he's gotten a little tidier over the years?' _then she saw him drop the bowl of ramen he was making onto the floor. He picked it up and continued eating and just threw a paper towel over the mess. _'Or maybe this mysterious Gaara does all the cleaning?' _she thought with a deadpan expression. "Oh, hey if you wanna change your clothes since they're all wet and all, there's a laundry room through that door. " He said while pointing to a door next to the fridge. "Naruto, what am I going to change into?" she asked, knowing that he full well forgot she didn't have any extra clothes. He thought for a moment, then a perverted look came over his face

"You could always just walk around naked. hehehe" he said. Her eyebrow twitched. Then her hands balled up into fist. "Narutoooo!" she yelled as she punched him in the gut. He fell to the floor. "OW! Saaaakuraaaaa! That hurt! You know I was just kidding!" he whined from the ground. "Humph!" she huffed and crossed her arms childishly. Then she giggled, Naruto and her where strictly platonic, but he just happened to get adopted by a pervert of an old man, Jiraiya. Which in turn, made him into somewhat of a pervert. She reached down to pull him up, and when she did she squeezed his hand. "If you don't want to get hurt, don't be a perv." she said with a smile.

"Yeah yeah, I know." he grinned. "Here I'll go get you some clothes real quick." He ran up the stairs to what she assumed was his room. She could hear him rummaging through the drawers of what was probably his dresser. While he was gone she looked around the kitchen some. There was a nice counter-top along with a small island which doubled as a bar. Behind her was a nice set of sliding glass doors, which lead to a small back yard. It was small, but compared to her shoebox it was perfect. the kitchen was done in white, dark browns and light blue. It reminded her of the ocean. She let out a small content sigh and smiled. If they would allow it, she would enjoy living here.

Soon Naruto came back with an over sized shirt and some sweat pants for her to wear while her clothes where being washed and dryed. He showed her to the bathroom, which was located up stairs between two rooms. She quickly undressed and hoped in the shower. Suddenly it dawned on her, she could take as long as she'd like in the shower! _'God a nice long relaxing shower sounds amazing!'_ she thought _'although, I should still keep it short. I don't want to intrude more than I already am.' _She managed to only spend roughly 10 minuets in the shower. Getting out she looked for a something to brush her long pink hair. She usually had it in a messy bun, but for the rest of the day she wanted to leave it down.

Once she was through with her hair, she put on the over-sized clothes, she had to roll the top of the pants downat least three times, and she had to pull the drawstring as tight as it would go. The clothes still managed to hang off her. _'Well I guess thats the one benefit of not having any food, you stay pretty skinny.' _she thought with a sigh. She left the bathroom and went back downstairs to find Naruto in a small living room. She sat down next to him on the small couch.

"So have you decided what you want to do, Sakura?" he asked

"Well... If your roommates okay with it, I'd like to stay here. Just until I can get back on my feet that is!" She said hurriedly.

"Hm, well Gaara is kinda weird when it comes to people." he said with a serious look. Sakura felt her face fall with her emotions.

"B-but don't worry! He'll agree! Just let me talk to him! Dattebayo!" He said, slightly back stepping. She giggled.

"Alright Naruto, Thanks." She smiled lightly at him.

"Hah, no problem! What are friends for?" He replied with his sunny smile.

They heard the dryer beep indicating her clothes where done, once she'd retrieved them from the laundry room she went back to the bathroom to change. She'd been wearing her green tank top and some skinny jeans. _'Not the nicest thing to meet a possible new roommate in, but then again what do I have that could ever be considered nice?' _she groaned internally.

Once she was done dressing, she returned to the living room. "So when will this Gaara arrive?" she questioned Naruto.

"Honestly, I have no idea. He has a weird schedule."

"Does he have a phone you can call." she asked, knowing Naruto wasn't the brightest when it came to common sense.

"Huh? OH YEAH! He does! Haha I can't believe I forgot! I'll be back in a second." he said before running up to what she assumed was his room. She could hear him talking on the phone, but it was muffled she couldn't make out what they where saying.

* * *

He had been training, vigorously. He hadn't trained this hard in a long time, then again he hasn't faced the Uchiha in a long time. Not since- well, he preferred not to think of that time. It was the only time he ever came close to being defeated by someone. He took a break from his punching bag, some lowly street fighter with no class. Once he sat down his phone rang. _'Naruto... What the hell could he want, he knows I don't like to talk on the phone.' _He thought, then he answered the call. "Speak." Was all he said.

"Gaara! Hey buddy! Whats up?" his only friends cheery voice came loudly over the speaker.

"What do you want?"

"Jeeze! No need to be so rude dattebayo!" Naruto practically yelled in his ear.

"You have two seconds before I hang up. Use them wisely."

"Okay okay! Sheesh! Anyway, you know that girl Sakura?"

"From the orphanage you grew up in." He replied, showing that he did indeed remember the girl he used to talk about nonstop, before his crush on her broke and he found a new girl- Hinata he thought her name was.

"Yeah her! Anyway, she just lost her job and needs a place to stay for a-"

"No."

"What?! Why!"

"I don't want some strange woman I've never met living in our house Naruto." he heard Naruto sigh on the other end of the phone.

"I didn't want to have to do this but... If you don't I will post that picture-"

"Fine." Gaara interrupted him before he could even utter the most horrid piece of blackmail Naruto had on him.

"What was that?" Naruto said, he could tell by his voice that Naruto knew he'd struck a nerve and was going to drag this out.

"I said fine. You ass." then Gaara hung up the phone. _'That asshole... he said he destroyed that picture a long time ago.' _At this point he was fairly ticked off, so he grabbed another low class street fighter to pound into the ground. Fighting was his release, his way to vent and deal with the bad things that happened to him. Granted the fighting he did was underground and illegal, but it paid so much better than professional. He'd gotten into fighting when he was just ten years old. _'Enough.'_ he thought and shook those thoughts from his mind, he did not like to dwell on the past.

* * *

"Sakura! He said yes!" Naruto yelled as he raced down the stairs.

"R-really?!" She squealed along with him.

"Yup! Dattebayo! Lets go get your stuff!" He exclaimed and grabbed his car keys.

Once they got to her tiny apartment, she realized this would be the first time Narutos seen it. She didn't ever have anyone over, it was too small and in a too bad part of town.

"Sakura... This is where you live?" He said quietly. His face grew dark and his eyes where shaded by his hair.

"I... I wish I would have known sooner that you had it so hard.. I would have insisted you move in sooner!"

"Naruto, I-"

"NO! I don't want you to apologize! I know you Sakura, hell we practically grew up as brother and sister. So I know how prideful you are, and how much you want to do things on your own. But everyone needs a little help sometimes! Next time, be sure to at least tell me when your struggling!" His voice was quivering slightly.

"Baka..." she said quietly touched at how much he cared, though it didn't surprise her. They where inseparable until he got adopted at 14. After that they rarely got to see each other, especially once she got accepted into medical school.

She looked up from her thoughts to see him rummaging through her almost nonexistent pantry.

"Sakura... Is this why you've been so skinny?! I thought you where on a diet or something! You know what, FUCK THIS PLACE!" He yelled, surprising her.

"Fuck all this shit you have here, you're getting an overhaul starting with lunch on me- DON'T ARGUE!- and I'm also going to be buying you some new clothes." he said with all the conviction in the world.

"B-but Naruto-" She started, but he cut her off.

"No buts! It's time for a new life, and weather you want it or not we're going through with this." and with that he drug her out of her shoebox, _"well... I supposed it isn't mine anymore.' _she thought. She'd never felt so free. Soon they were laughing wildly with each other. He brought her to a little fast food place, where she ate her fill of something that was thankfully _not ramen. _After that he forced her to go to the mall and pick out clothes for herself. She'd only been shopping once or twice, but that was many years ago. Most of her clothes where old stuff she still fit into. She tried to pick out the cheapest things, until surprisingly Naruto noticed what she was doing, he made her put everything back and pick out what she _really _wanted to wear.

"You're beautiful Sakura, you should let the world know it dattebayo!" he grinned at her. He was most definitely the best friend she'd ever had and most likely would ever have.

"Thanks Naruto, but how am I going to pay for all of this?"

"I told you, I'm paying for it!"

"But-"

"Nope, I said no buts. Think of it as pay back for all those times you'd patch me up after a fight?" Naruto said. He'd gotten into many fights when they where younger.

"Uh.. Well, you're not going to give me a choice are you? *sigh* Well okay, just this once though!" She agreed.

After a long day of buying things, they finally returned to Narutos house. _"Well, I should really start thinking of it as my house too now... I'll be sure to pay my part for stuff!" _she thought determinedly. Naruto helped her put together the small bed they'd gotten for her. Once that was done she put away her new clothes, in her new dresser. While she did that, a small sense of guilt came over her. She knew all of this was supposed to be a present from Naruto, but she could help but feel she owed him so much! After all he's ever done for her, protecting her from the other children, being her friend when no one was around, now this? How would she ever pay him back? Suddenly an idea formed in her head _'I'll make him dinner ever day while I'm living here- Gaara too! It's not much, but it's about all I have to offer!' _

She found her way to the kitchen and began cooking some spaghetti. The smell must have roused Naruto from his loud nap on the couch, she'd forgotten how much he snored. "You're cooking?! Hell yeah!"he exclaimed. She used to cook for them all the time at the orphanage.

"It'll be done in a minuet, and make sure to leave some for Gaara!" she scolded him. She knew all to well how large his stomach was.

"Yeah yeah, don't get your panties in a twist." he mumbled at her, which earned him a smack on the head with the ladle she was using.

A few hours later she and Naruto where watching TV in the living room. She was beginning to get worried about Gaara. He wasn't back yet. _"I know Naruto said he has a weird schedule, but it's almost ten o'clock!" _

"Hey Naruto, when will Gaara be home?" She was curious about Gaara, having never met him before and now moving into what was his house.

"Dunno. He come in alot really late at night, sometimes not at all."

"What? Isn't that a bit weird?"

"Haha yeah I suppose so, but he likes it that way, plus his job is a night shift type thing so it really isn't all that unusual if you think about it." he said with a smirk. She had a feeling that wasn't all there was to it, but she wasn't one to pry- at least not right off the bat.

Shortly after that they said good night and she went to her room. She quickly fell asleep, she'd had a long day after all.

She wasn't sure what woke her, but now that she was awake she realized just how thristy she was. She made her way into the kitchen and sleepily opened the fridge.

"You must be Sakura." came a deep smooth voice from the bar. "EEP!" she squealed and turned around quickly. Sitting at the bar, was probably the most handsome man she'd ever seen. His hair was a crimson red, and his eyes where thickly lined but she could still see the gorgeous shade of jade they where. His face was hard set but there was a certain softness to it.

"Um.. Gaara..?" She guessed.

"Hn." was all he said.

"I'll take that as a yes." she deadpanned. Then she noticed how bloodied and bruised he was.

"Oh god! You're hurt!" Her medical training kicked in and she no longer saw the hot redhead before her and saw only someone in pain. She ran and grabbed her medical kit from her room and set it down on the island next to him.

"What do you think you're doing?" He nearly growled at her. She suddenly remembered Naruto saying he didn't like people. _'but I can't look away from someone whos injured...'_

"I'm patching you up." She said and stubbornly raised her chin.

* * *

Gaara cursed as the front door slammed open harder than he intended it to. _'Damn match, that stupid Uchiha cheated, brass knuckles aren't allowed.' _He was furious with himself for losing, even if the Uchiha cheated. He made his way to the kitchen, he needed a drink. His head was pounding and he knew he looked like hell. He could feel blood coming down the side of his face, and he knew his cheek would need stitches. _'Stupid bastard..' _ he cursed Sauske Uchiha once again. He took a big swig from the whiskey bottle. He reveled in the burn it sent down his throat.

Suddenly he heard a noise from the living room. He stared at the door, expecting it to maybe a burglar or something. If it was they'd have a rude awakening finding out they broke into the house of the underground fighting champion. _'ex champion now... bastard.' _Weapons aren't allowed in the championship battles, only in the regular and prelim fights.

He soon found out the source of the noise was indeed from a person, but he doubted she was a burglar. She opened the fridge. It clicked in his mind who she was. _'That must be the woman Naruto wanted to move in with us._' He thought as he assessed her. She was skinny, too skinny. The over sized shirt she slept in did nothing to hide how small around her arms where and her legs- his shook his head to clear his thoughts, she had chosen to enter the kitchen with only the over sized shirt covering her up, it reached about mid thigh.

"You must be Sakura." he said, knowing she had no idea he was even there. "EEP!" she squealed, though to her favor, she did grab out a cucumber and pointed it at him.

He got a full look at her face now, her eyes where like emeralds and her lips where a soft pink. _'Stop.' _ he ordered himself. He did not want to look at her as anything other than a annoying house pest, like a mouse or something.

"Um.. Gaara?" She questioned him. Her voice was- _'No.' _he ordered himself to stop again.

"Hn."

"I'll take that as a yes." she said, he could hear the deadpan in her voice. That intrigued him, most people didn't know how to respond to his almost silent answers. She seemed to take notice of his appearance.

"Oh god! You're hurt!" she exclaimed before rushing back to the living room. _'I suppose Naruto put her in the extra room' _he thought. She soon returned with a white box with a red plus sign on it. He realized what he intention was.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked her, trying not to be too vicious. He absolutely hated people touching him more than anything. He saw her be taken aback. _'heh, thats right, back away just like everyone else.' _he thought somewhat bitterly, usually when he got angry people ran for the hills. He was going to enjoy watching her find out what he was truly like, to see her crumble in fear of him., but then she did something unexpected.

"I'm patching you up." she said to him while defiantly raising her chin. He was astonished, very few people ever came back at him, and even then it was usually only Naruto or his siblings. He glared at her.

"Glare all you want, but I _will _patch you up. I cannot sit by and let someone be in pain if there's something I can do about it." then she did something he expected even less, she _glared back at him_. _"Naruto.. who is this girl, and why have we never met before?" _he thought.

"Hn... Alright, but if i let you patch me up you also have to make me something to eat." he sneered, trying to gain some sort of dominance over the situation. She went over to the fridge and pulled out a large bowl of spaghetti. "It would have been fresh if you'd gotten in at a decent hour." she told him. Then she began to disinfect his wounds.

By the time she was done and he had finished his dinner, Gaaras mind was in chaos. She was so unpredictable, not at all like the other girls Gaara had met over time. _'It's probably just because of how many head blows the Uchiha got in... It's messed with my mind.' _with that thought, he went up the stairs and into his room, where he promptly climbed into bed and fell asleep.

* * *

Well, that's all I got for now! Please read and review, also if you want to see the floor plans and various outfits of the characters, visit my profile where links can be found for such things! thanks!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey guys, Finally here's another update! I think I'm going to promise to put a new chapter up at least once a month, maybe more sometimes and maybe less, but at least once a month i will try my best. Remember I have a ton of stuff going on now. And without further adieu, here is Strong, chapter 3

* * *

Shortly after Gaara went to bed, Sakura realized that she'd been waltzing around in her underwear and an old t-shit! _"how embarrassing!" _she cried internally. She made her way to what was now here room _"I still can't get over the fact that I have an actual nice room! EEP!" _she cheered. As she lay back down her mind moved back to Gaara. _"Why was he all beat up like that?" _she mused, but before her mind could ponder it, she fell asleep.

That morning Sakura rose quietly, she was used to being awake in the wee hours of the morning. It was about 5:30 a.m. She quickly got some biscuits in the oven, while they where cooking she got into the shower. It felt so good to take a _long luxurious hot shower. _She could just melt with happiness. She took a deep breath, then slowly released it. _'Oh! the biscuits!' _she thought. hurriedly she got out, dried off and put on the robe Naruto bought for her yesterday. She glanced around making sure that no one could see, then raced down to the kitchen. Once she got the biscuits out of the oven, she got out the butter, honey and jelly. She also started her own creation of a special chocolate sauce that her and Naruto just loved to put on biscuits. She began humming to herself as she set the table.

Once everything was set it was about an hour after she'd woken up. _"Guess I'll go get dressed now." _She dressed quickly, but before leaving she spotted one of her few photos. It was of her and Naruto, the third person was being dragged into the picture, but the half a face that made it in was unmistakably Sauske Uchiha. He was their childhood friend. He was also- _'NO! I promised once I got into medical school I wouldn't think about it anymore!' _she shook her head trying to break out of the moment. She went upstairs to wake up Naruto, only to find him half-way off the bed drooling into his own nose. '_What an idiot.' _she deadpanned. She giggled as an evil thought formed in her mind. She quietly got close to Narutos ear, and whispered "Ramen is now banned in this country." then leapt back quickly. "WHAT?! THEY WHAT?!" Naruto began screaming his head off, and promptly fell out of the bed hitting his hard skull on the floor in the process.

Sakura giggled quietly in the background. Then he seemed to realize what was going on. "Hey! That was mean Sakura-chan!" he pouted like a small child. She laughed, and said "Come on down, breakfast is ready." Naruto zoomed past her, making her giggle. She turned to see Gaara exiting his room. "Oh, Gaara-" He cut her off by slamming the bathroom door in her face.

Her friendly smile stayed in place, but internally something clicked inside her. Her teeth gritted and her brow twitched, and slowly that friendly smile turned into a forced grimace.

She knocked forcefully on the offending door, halfway hoping it would splinter and break with her rage. It opened just a crack. She was met with a glare. "What." he simply said. "Breakfast. It's ready." She said just as short and huffily. She turned on her heel and stomped down to the kitchen, where Naruto had already eaten his weight in the biscuits. When he reached for her plate too, she slapped his hand away hard enough to send it flying back into his own face."OW OW OW OW! Sakura-chan!" he started to whine, but she sent him a glare from the depths of her own personal hell fire. Naruto shot back, and was cowering in the corner.

She was still seething when Gaara finally came down the stairs, with his slow cat like walk. _"Stupid stupid jerk! I spend all morning making breakfast and he has the nerve to treat me like that! cha!" _She glared as his picked up a biscuit and sniffed it. He glanced at her. She thought she saw him smirk, but it was so quick she wasn't sure. "Hn." was all he said as he popped the biscuit into his mouth and walked out the front door.

"THAT BASTARD! NOT EVEN A WORD OF THANKS!" she raged. "uh... Sakura?" Naruto mumbled from his safe spot in the corner, though Sakura could not hear him she was too blinded by rage. "WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS!?"

"Uh... Sakura-Chan?"

"I'M GOING TO BEAT HIS FACE IN! CHA!"

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto finally got the guts to yell at her, which all in all was a terrible decision considering her rage was soon directed at him.

"WHAT NARUTO!?" her piercing glare was so fiery Naruto was sure it was going to burn a hole through his head.

"u-um.. A-arn't you going to be late for school?" he stammered.

She stared at him for a moment, then suddenly it dawned on her that he was right. She sprang into action scrambling to get her supplies together while getting her school uniform on as well. Her previous anger all but forgotten, she rushed out the door. It would be about a 20 minuet fast jog, but she only had 10 minuets before class started.

"Just fucking perfect!" she growled to herself. Suddenly, she became very aware that some asshole was slowly driving beside her. "_Probably just some pervert hoping I'll be stupid enough to get in his car, AS IF!" _She turned to start screaming obscenities at the jerk when she realized that the asshole was none other than the prick who slammed the door in her face twice today. She stopped her frantic run and turned toward the now rolled down window. Before she could begin to tell him to fuck off he cut her off. "Get in." Gaara spoke in his damned _sexy _voice. She blinked as she entered the car. Where had that thought come from?! Sure he had a nice voice but _sexy? _No. Just no. _"there is nothing attractive about this asshole, he's a total jerk!" _she assured herself.

She was still huffing from her run when they pulled up to the school a thought suddenly made it's way to her mouth. "How did you know where I went to school?" she questioned him. He took a moment to look at her like she was stupid."You patched me up." He said simply. She looked at him like he was crazy. Gaara rolled his eyes and huffed once before entering what was probably the longest sentence he'd said in a long time. "You patched me up with a medical kit and obvious medical know how. You're too young to be a doctor, and not strong enough to be and EMT, Naruto also mentioned you're in college so by connecting the dots I come to the conclusion that you are a Medical student and the only medical school in the area is this one. Now then get out of my car and don't expect rides from me again." He glared at her.

Sakura huffed slightly ticked about the rude manner in which Gaara kicked her out of his car, but she couldn't be too mad, he _had _gotten her to school on time.

* * *

Gaara spent the remainder of the day training his body. He had to be prepared for his next match, he was going to get his championship tittle back if it was the last thing he did. When he finally got home he entered the kitchen to find a note on the microwave.

_"Gaara, heres some meatloaf please enjoy.- Sakura. P.S. thank you, for the ride this morning." _He crumpled the note and started the microwave. "Tch.." He scoffed. He didn't need her thanks, he only did it so he wouldn't have to listen to Naruto prattle on about what a horrible person he was. He threw her note away and ate his still slightly cold meatloaf.

This routine went on for a few months. Gaara would take a small part of the breakfast Sakura would make and walk out the door without so much as a smirk, let alone a "Thank you." after that he would go to the gym and train all day. Soon he was stronger than he'd ever been and was quite confidant in his ability to win his next match. And with the help of Sakura he stayed in tip top shape. She had forced upon him a healthier diet and always patched him up time and time again.

Gaara was unsure of how to feel about the pinkette. As a general rule he did not like people, with a few exceptions. However he could not classify her in the same way he did Naruto, or his siblings. No she was different. He wasn't sure how, but it scared him. This unknown feeling, it made him mad. She would do things for him that no one had ever done. It was confusing.

Months had passed since his last fight with the Uchiha, but this time he was stronger and more prepared to battle against his cheating and cheap shots. He had made his way home after finally regaining his title as champion. It was a bloody and physically scaring battle but he won. He was on top of the world, now if he could just get it to stop moving. He was having trouble seeing straight so the walk home took longer than normal, but now that he was there he was eager to get cleaned up by his own personal medic. _"Tch.. How weak... How weak have I become that I depend on that.. useless wisp of a girl." _He internally scoffed. He hadn't realized just how depended he had become. He had gotten used to her presence in their home. He had gotten weak to her gentle hands sewing his wounds closed, or the way dinner was ready for him when he arrived regardless of what time that was. This feeling of depending on someone, it made him sick. He only depended on himself, that's how it always was because the second you depend on someone else... They stab you right in the heart.

* * *

Sakura was curled up on the couch with three large text books surrounding her. She was studying for finals which where only three weeks away. She glanced up at the clock and noted it was very late. She was beginning to get worried, it had been months since Gaara had stayed out this late. She had gotten used to her new little life style, and even grew slightly attached to the volatile redhead.

Their relationship had started off rocky, what with the way he treated her and whatnot. She eventually realized that Gaara was just like that. She knew from Naruto he had a way more difficult past than they had ever had. She didn't know why she noticed how thin- yet muscled-he was. She didn't understand why she decided to take care of him. She had begun it slowly by giving him more protein, then eventually moved on up to controlling his diet outright. Soon he began to gain muscle mass and grew to a more healthy weight. She also continued to dress the wounds he would come in with, which was at least twice a week. Every time she would ask him where he got them and every time he would either ignore her, or simply tell her it was none of her business.

Eventually she shrugged off the bad feeling she had long enough to delve back into studying. When she heard the front door open she gave it little notice. Gaara knew where to find her if he really needed her help.

* * *

During his struggle up his driveway thoughts of his uncle arose in his mind. He would never be _that _weak ever again. He refused. He tried shaking his head to get rid of the annoying thoughts but that was a bad move on his part. All the head trauma he had suffered that night had resulted in at least three concussions. He stumbled into the house, decided there was no way he would be making it to his room or the kitchen he settled for falling onto the soft couch. Due to his vision being blurry he did not see the small pink haired girl who happened to be sitting there in time so soon his face was planted firmly in the large medical text that was resting on her lap as she read. The last thing he heard before blacking out was her soft murmur of "Oh my god!"

He did not expect that when he awoke next his head would be in the lap of a fuming woman. He wasn't sure what was going on, he knew it had been at least six hours since he passed out, she couldn't have stayed with him that long could she? he wondered, though he soon stopped thinking as his head was throbbing.

"Do you have any idea just how close you where to dying?" she ground out through clenched teeth. He merely stared at her. He knew she was only feigning interest and would soon give up on him like everyone else. Suddenly, he was aware of water hitting his forehead. He sat up slowly thinking he was under a leak or something. Confused he touched the wetness on his face. He didn't think there was a leak in the living room, but then again his head was kind of hazy still. He turned to ask the girl how long he'd been out, when he did he got the shock of a life time. There where tears, actual tears in her eyes. Tears meant for him. She was _crying _for him. All he could do was stare. No one, not one person had ever _cried _over the thought of his death. Most usually rejoiced at the prospect. Yet here was this lonely girl _actually crying _for him.

That's when, for the first time, he really saw her.

* * *

There you have it folks, the third chapter. I feel like things may be a bit rushed, but right now I am considering this a first draft, if I can actually finish this one, then I want to go back and edit it. Please read and review and tell me what you think.


End file.
